Set Pieces
Near-Post Corner Routine
Deliver a consistent inswinging ball to the near-post zone, attack it with a hard run to glance it across goal, and arrive on time at the back post to finish. Timing of the runs beats athleticism.
Duration
14 min
Total drill time
Players
5
Recommended
Pitch
52 × 36 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
Medium
Physical demand
Age band
U11-U12
Any format
Setup & instructions
Set a full goal and keeper. The taker delivers an inswinger to the near-post zone (about the near six-yard corner). The near-post runner starts three steps out and attacks the ball to flick it across goal, never waiting for it. A second runner attacks the back post to finish the glance. Add a central runner for rebounds. Run it from both sides and rotate roles.
Setup time: 3 min
Tactical breakdown
Set pieces decide a far larger share of matches than the time teams spend on them would suggest, and the near-post corner is the routine with the best return for the least complexity. It works because it attacks the one area a defence finds hardest to protect: the space in front of the keeper, where a goalkeeper cannot comfortably come and a defender cannot comfortably head clear.
The delivery is the whole routine. A ball whipped flat and fast to the near-post zone arrives before the defence can react to it and cannot be stepped in front of. A slower, higher ball invites the first defender to attack it and the keeper to claim it. Pace on the delivery is worth more than placement, because a fast ball only needs to be touched to become dangerous.
The near-post runner is not trying to score. That is the instruction players most often get wrong. His job is to redirect, to get any part of his head on the ball and glance it across the face of goal, which turns a defended delivery into an undefended one. A defence organised to deal with a cross into the six-yard box is rarely organised to deal with the same ball travelling sideways two yards off the line.
Everything after that is timing. The back-post runner has to arrive late and on the move, reading the flick rather than anticipating it, and a third runner gambling centrally picks up everything that breaks loose.
How to run this drill
- Set the delivery zone. Full goal and keeper. Mark the near-post zone around the near corner of the six-yard box so the taker has a target rather than an idea.
- Whip the inswinger flat and fast. The taker delivers an inswinging ball into the near-post zone at pace. Height and hang time let defenders attack it, so keep it flat enough that only a touch is needed.
- Attack the near post with a hard run. The near-post target starts three steps out and attacks the ball. He must never stand and wait for it, because a static runner is easy to block and easy to read.
- Glance it across goal, do not shoot. The flick is a redirection, not an attempt. Any contact that sends the ball across the face of goal turns a defended delivery into a free header for someone else.
- Arrive late at the back post. The second runner reads the flick and arrives on the move to finish. Time the run to the strike of the ball rather than setting off early and drifting offside or ahead of it.
- Gamble centrally for the second ball. A third runner attacks the space between the flick and the keeper, picking up spills, blocks and anything that breaks loose. Rotate roles and run it from both sides.
Coaching focus
FROM SESSION PLANCoaching points
- The near-post target attacks the ball with a hard run, never waits for it
- Deliver flat and fast to the near-post zone so a defender cannot step in front
- Glance the flick across goal, do not try to score with it: redirect for the back post
- The back-post runner arrives late and on the move, reading the flick
- Time the runs to the strike of the ball, not before
- Have a central runner gambling on the loose ball and the keeper's spill
Common mistakes
- The near-post runner standing still and letting the ball come to them
- Delivery too high or too deep, past the near-post zone
- Trying to score directly with the flick instead of redirecting it
- The back-post runner arriving too early and being marked out
Progressions & regressions
VARIATIONSProgressions
- Add a full defensive line and a keeper commanding the box
- Vary the delivery between near-post inswinger and a driven ball
- Add a decoy near-post run to drag a marker away
Regressions
- Serve the delivery by hand to groove the runs and the flick
- Remove the defender for unopposed pattern work
- Slow the routine to a walk-through of the timing first
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